What percentage of teams that win Game 1 of the NBA Finals go on to win the series?

Any team looking to win an NBA playoff series is hoping to win Game 1, give themselves a numeric advantage as the push toward the end and keep the pressure on their opponents. That's no different in the NBA Finals where the lights are the birghtest and the time off between games is maximized — that's extra time for everyone to heal and extra time for narratives to coalesce.

A home team that loses Game 1 has already ceded home court, one of their biggest advantages and put themselves in the position of having to win at least one game on the road. Winning Game 1 doesn't necessarily remove the pressure but it at least keeps it at bay.

For a road team, losing Game 1 isn't the end of the world, it's the expected outcome. You just need to to protect your own homecourt and steal at least one road game with four chances. But if you are able to steal that first game, you've ratcheted up the pressure on your opponent to enormous levels and given yourself a nice cushion.

These conventional wisdoms bear themselves out in the numbers as well.

Percentage of teams that win Game 1 of the NBA Finals going on to win the series:

The team that wins Game 1 of the NBA Finals has gone on to win the series just over 70 percent of the team. That's a big margin but it's the lowest percentage for any round of the playoffs. For example, the team that wins Game 1 in the first round has won the series 79.4 percent of the time.

You can also see the similar value to each team of a Game 1 win — for either the home or road team, a win in Game 1 increases their historic odds of winning the series by about 22 percent compared to a loss.

Who was the last team to win Game 1 of the NBA Finals and lose the series?

Coincidentally, the last team to win Game 1 of the NBA Finals and lose the series was the Boston Celtics. They won Game 1 over the Warriors, on the road, 120-108. They then lost four of the next five games by a combined minus-36 point differential.

Which teams have the best record in Game 1 of the NBA Finals all time?

Just 10 teams in NBA history have played in the finals five or more times. Of that group, the San Antonio Spurs have the best record in Game 1s, by a significant margin.